You may be a writer, teacher, a marketing specialist, or an employee in any company. Whatever your job is, writing is an integral part of it. People are writing not only books and short stories, but reports, emails, blog posts, and promotional articles as well. If you want to make an impression, proper writing skills are necessary.
When you want to become a more effective writer, you can’t just meditate on the goal. This is a mission that requires tons of practice. Plus, you’ll need the right tools to support the process. Let’s start from the tools, shall we?
I’ll suggest 9 writing tools that are awesome for any profession. They serve different purposes, so you can combine few of them in your practice.
We all use cliché phrases in our everyday speech. When you’re writing content that someone else is going to read, those clichés will ruin the impression. The problem is: we can’t be aware of these flaws when they look perfectly fine to us. The solution is this tool: Cliché Finder. All you need to do is paste your text, and the tool will warn you about the problematic parts.
If you’re writing content that’s going to be published somewhere, you have to make sure there’s zero plagiarism in it. You can do that by referencing every single source you used in that piece. However, sometimes you get a bit too inspired by something you read, and suddenly those ideas become yours. You’re not even aware you’re plagiarizing someone else’s work.
That’s why it’s important to check your content through Copyscape. I find this to be the best plagiarism detection engine out there. The reports are simple and very detailed. They lead you directly to the source you need to reference if you want to avoid plagiarism in your work.
When you’re working on an important writing project that demands great creativity, mind mapping is crucial. There are tons of online tools you can use for that purpose, but I recommend FreeMind. It’s a downloadable tool that you can use offline. That’s important, since you’re often offline when you want to focus on the work.
The interface is as simplistic as it gets. That’s cool, since you don’t want to be distracted by flashy features when brainstorming. The mind maps are still highly visual and organized, though.
It’s a classic. I see looooong sentences in blog posts all the time. In fact, I’m guilty of this crime, too. You don’t want to see how this post would look like without Hemingway App. Whether you’re writing a book, an article or an email message, the language has to be clear. This online tool highlights the complex sentences and recommends you to fix them. I don’t always accept its suggestions, but I find that it does improve the quality of my writing.
Online distractions are terrible. They are sneaky. You don’t even notice how you’re wasting your time on websites you don’t need for your work. Quabel Writer is a great tool that fights distractions. It launches you in a clean online environment that’s ready for your words. It automatically backs up the work as you write, so you don’t have to think about clicking the save button over and over again.
The best part is that you can set goals. Give yourself a precise timeframe for a certain number of words and you’ll be motivated to chase the goal. My favorite thing about Quabel Writer is the sound of a typewriter.
Some days, you just open a blank Word document and the words start flowing. Other days are not so happy. You’re feeling unmotivated, nervous, and, well… stuck. You’ll love this tool on those days. It teaches you how to find motivation to continue working and stop procrastinating.
The app helps you see the situation as it is. It gives you a new perspective by asking provocative questions and giving tips that call you to action. It works like a charm for achieving writing goals, but it also helps you become more productive in general.
You want to support an argument and make your writing more authoritative? You’re looking for a way to start an email or an article? Use a quote! BrainyQuote is an online tool that helps you find the right quote at the right time
When you want to write effectively, you need to launch yourself in the perfect environment. If your office is too quiet, you may lack the action. If you’re constantly bugged by conversations from people around you, you’ll lose your focus. You need something in between – subtle sounds of people talking. You can’t understand what they are saying, so you’re not distracted by them.
Coffitivity recreates ambient sounds that help you stay focused. There’s something about these sounds that launches you directly into work mode.
You can’t just turn the Internet off because you need it for your work. Still, you’re aware of the fact that having access to the Internet means that you won’t resist the temptation to check Facebook and Twitter while writing. Before you know it, you’ve wasted an hour on social media and you forgot all ideas you had about that piece.
Cold Turkey is a distraction blocker that prevents that from happening. It won’t let you access websites that waste your time, so you’ll definitely be a more focused and productive writer.
Have you tried any of these 9 tools? What effect did they have on your practice? Do you have other favorite writing tools? Do share! I’m always excited to try something new.
